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3 Insights From The Best Startup Event You've Never Heard Of

I’ll be honest: I always thought of Indiana as a “flyover state,” but my opinion quickly changed after spending the last three days at the Powder Keg in Indianapolis. This brand-new startup conference markets itself to the “crazy ones.” It’s the startup event that you probably didn’t attend (or even know about) this year — but you’ll be sorely missing out if you don’t attend in 2013.

I have always supported Midwestern startups, because I became an entrepreneur myself while living in Wisconsin. Just five years ago, it was nearly impossible for my early-stage career management platform to raise the $1 million in funding that we did (before moving the company to Washington, D.C. in search of bigger deals). On this trip, I see that something different is happening now — largely thanks to locals who have found a recipe for creating energetic entrepreneurship communities, no matter where they are.

I left this year’s inauguralPowder Keg with three inspirational insights that I believe leaders around the world can use to create startup ecosystems in their own cities:

1. Want community? Build it yourself.

Scott Case, CEO of Startup America, shared this important idea during his keynote on building startup communities in the U.S. He reminded us why we became entrepreneurs to begin with: to solve a problem that we felt needed solving and nobody else was going to do anything about.

Matt Hunckler, founder of a platform for high-growth software startups called Verge, created the Powder Keg because he wanted to show the greater startup community in America what Indiana was capable of. He came up with the concept and launched it within 90 days.

As Case, also the vice-chairman of Malaria No More, reminded us at dinner during the second night of the conference: You don’t want to let overthinking get in the way of hard work and execution.

2. Showcase your successes with pride.

The first day of the Powder Keg was centered around a showcase of the state’s most impressive young startups called the Startup Bowl. Aptly held at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of Super Bowl XLVI, 15 startups competed for $15,000 in cash and resources. In the end, only one startup walked away as champion, but for the startup community in Indiana, everyone was a winner.

Awareness is key to building a thriving startup ecosystem. As Case pointed out during his keynote, Indiana residents that he’s met in passing don’t even know about the two big tech IPOs that have come out if Indiana recently: ExactTarget and Angie’s List.

With success stories like these, how can you not have pride?

Events like the Powder Keg aren’t just about prize money. They’re about spreading awareness and inspiring the local community. 3. Be something different … really different.

With all of the work done by Silicon Prairie News to support Midwest entrepreneurship through events like Big Omaha, I wondered how the Powder Keg would be any different. More importantly, I asked myself, “Will I leave having discovered something unique about the Indiana startup community?”

I got my answer, loud and clear, from one Michael Coffey.

Less than a year ago, Coffey left his job as CEO of Sequoia Technologies in Silicon Valley and uprooted his family to Indianapolis. In April, he became a partner at Developer Town, a warehouse full of small houses where every employee has their own small residence, and business ideas are brought to life. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, period. Me and a few other out-of-towners deemed it (admittedly, after a few drinks) “the Shire of Startups.”

The residents of Developer Town, however, are nothing like the unadventurous Hobbits. They’re the inspiration for this article, and a shining example of how Indiana is creating something unique and wholly unforgettable.

Coffey, whose own dwelling is named the “Coffey House,” is hoping to host the Powder Keg in their facility next year and took a moment away from the closing party to show me an empty wing of the warehouse where the event would be held (and where he also hopes to build more houses). Frankly, I can’t imagine a better stage to show off what makes the Indiana community so exciting.

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